


What is Right and What is Wrong

by MusicallyActive



Series: Taiyuu OCT One-Shots [1]
Category: Original Work, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: A story about bnha OCs?? In my Chili's?? It's more likely than you think, Gen, Kidnapping, Nonbinary Character, Quirkless Character, Taiyuu High, The Court - Freeform, quirk discrimination
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:21:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22764661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicallyActive/pseuds/MusicallyActive
Summary: "Okay Quirkless," Shakou sneered, tapping her foot impatiently. The kid winced. Good, they already know their place. "Are we going to take all day to figure out what's on the list or will you hand it to me sometime before the store closes."(AKA: Two Taiyuu students get kidnapped while trying to get groceries at the store)
Relationships: Kazumi Shunsuke | Buckskin (OC) & Taiyuu Students (OCs), Takakutou Shakou (OC) & Senshi Yasashii (OC), pre Takakutou Shakou (OC) / Tokachi Ameko (OC)
Series: Taiyuu OCT One-Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1636687
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	What is Right and What is Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there guys! This is slightly different from what I usually post! This is a one-shot of my character (Senshi Yasashii) and Sappho's character (Takakutou Shakou)! 
> 
> In order to understand this, you'll need some context! So here's a brief description of what The Court is:
> 
> A Quirkist villain group dedicated to eradicating the Quirkless and those with weaker quirks. They have a system of being the Judge, Jury, and Executioner, deciding who is Guilty, and who is deemed Innocent
> 
> Also a description of Takakutou's quirk: Hole Puncher- when she draws an outline of a shape onto a solid object she can punch a hole through that shape.

Shakou didn't know who this kid thought they were. Being _Quirkless_ in a hero school as if they were anywhere near the same level as a quirk user. Quirkless people were not worthy of that kind of thing. They were weak and breakable and weren't worth the time to talk to or train with or get to know because they would die just as easily as those with weaker quirks. In fact, they die even faster than the weakest quirk users, with high suicide rates across the globe. So how can this kid even think that they have a chance, a mere possibility, of becoming a hero in the real world when they were in fact comparable to the dirt beneath her shoes?

So you can imagine how frustrating it was when she turned to the class' chore chart of the week only to find out that _she_ had to go shopping for their groceries with… _them._ She would have even taken that Tokachi girl over the Quirkless kid at this point. She was _annoying_ , sure, but at least she had _something_ going for her. Plus she was pretty cute…

Regardless, she was stuck on a trip to a _stupid_ grocery store with a _stupid quirkless kid_ just to get some kid's favorite cereal because they ran out two days ago.

They've been walking in a tense silence ever since they left school grounds, though the train ride off the island had admittedly been easier to deal with since earbuds _exist_ and if Shakou just closed her eyes and believed hard enough, it was almost as if the Quirkless kid wasn't even there.

Of course, there comes a time in the trip where _someone_ had to talk. Though that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Okay Quirkless," Shakou sneered, tapping her foot impatiently. The kid winced. Good, they already know their place. "Are we going to take _all day_ to figure out what's on the list or will you hand it to me sometime before _the store closes."_

The kid seemed to take a deep calming breath before taking out a folded piece of paper and handing it to her. "This is your half of the list," they said, holding it out for not even a second before Shakou snatched it from their hands, "you get your half, I'll get mine, and we'll meet up back at checkout by 4:30 PM." 

A brief scan at her list tells her that everything on it was in one half of the store while Quirkless' half was in the other. It would mean they were as far apart from each other as they were allowed to be. Perfect.

"Don't be late, _I'm_ not going to explain to sensei that I had to leave the Quirkless kid behind because they were too slow." Shakou replied snarkily, turning on the kid before they had a chance to agree or disagree with her. She didn't really care either way.

She didn't have to walk far. In all honesty, it was a small store and the list wasn't very long anyways, but it was ten more minutes she didn't have to spend in that god-awful _silence_. 

It wasn't actually the quiet that bothered her, Shakou decided as she placed another box of marshmallow cereal into her shopping basket, no it was the _tension_ that came with standing alone with her quirkless classmate. Almost like they were expecting her to jump them or something. The kid mostly just annoyed her. 

On one hand, they didn't get in her way very often, and when they did they were quick to retreat to the sidelines assuming it wasn't hero course related. On the other hand, they were a _Quirkless._ And just that word alone really spoke volumes, didn't it.

The shopping part of the trip was pathetically easy with the list split up into two halves. It left for five to six easily found items on either list, which all in all took not even ten minutes for Shakou to find and collect. 

It wasn't even 4:25 yet when she walked back to the checkout isles, and yet the quirkless kid was already there.

"I hope you found everything you were looking for!" The employee behind the counter said, a jovial tone to his voice and his bright yellow eyes trained intensely on the quirkless kid's movements. "Did you find everything okay?"

They nodded, seemingly unnerved by the cashier's stare. Shakou rolled her eyes at them. It was just a dumb cashier.

"What about you Takakutou?" The cashier asked, eyes a little too wide and smile a little too large on his unnervingly pale face. "You have everything you need?"

Shakou squinted at him, annoyed. "You already asked us that dumba-" 

The quirkless kid tugged on her sleeve. "Takakutou, we need to go. We need to leave." They said urgently, shifting in place with their bags.

"Don't touch me!" She yelped, ripping her sleeve out of their grasp. The cashier grinned even wider.

" _Takakutou!"_ They whispered, sounding almost mad enough to make Shakou impressed. "How did he know your name?"

She blinked, anger forgotten as she processed their words. "My… parents, probably. Wait-"

"You still have a lot to learn if you think you can be a hero with the skills you currently have." The cashier laughed, reaching into his pocket absentmindedly and raising a handgun to Shakou's chest. "In fact, I don't think you should be a hero at all. Maybe, oh I don't know," his eyes flashed from yellow to gold, sending a tendril of light into the barrel of the gun. "A member of The Court?"

He fired, and for a moment, all Shakou could see was gold. Then came the _pain,_ but she could take it, she had to, and she called upon her quirk to punch a hole right through the circular mat on the counter and-

Shakou screamed in pain, slamming her hand into the counter's surface. It didn't break. Why didn't it break? It hurt it hurt it HURT.

Distantly, she heard the quirkless kid call out to her, but she's too busy staring at the vaguely familiar gold pin attached to the cashier's shirt. There's a scale on it, why was there a scale on it. It couldn't be- She thought- she thought she was _safe-_

The last thing she saw before collapsing onto the floor was her classmate rushing to catch her.

The cashier was still laughing. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


When Shakou awoke, it was to a pain in her chest and an ache in her body. Something felt wrong. Something felt _missing._

She sat up with a start, breathing heavily as she remembered what had happened. She had been sent to the store to get groceries with the Quirkless kid, but- but the cashier-

The cashier had been wearing a Court Pin. 

Shakou looked around, eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness of her room- of her _cell_ \- when she spotted the unconscious beat up body next to her.

“You’ve got to be _kidding_ me.” She groaned, taking in her classmate's collapsed form. Stuck in a Court cell with Quirkless Kid? They’ll just be deadweight if she wanted to escape again! 

She took in a deep breath, trying to regain her focus. If she escaped when she was four, Shakou could escape again. She just needed to break the wall, wake up her classmate, because she was _not_ going to carry them, and then they could get out of there.

Shakou looked down at her wrists, noticing the thick metal chains attaching them together. That’s not a problem either, she decided, focusing her attention onto the chain closest to her cuffs.

She just needed to punch a small enough hole and-

And-

Why wasn’t her quirk working?

  
Shakou felt her heart skip a beat. She tried punching another hole in a different area of the cuffs. No luck. 

Okay, so maybe she’s attached to quirk-resistant cuffs then. No biggie, she can just find something else to use her quirk on, and take off the cuffs once she finds a key. 

Except, she can’t feel her quirk at all. It’s like- It’s like it’s just gone. Vanished. Like she never had one to begin with.

_Quirk-suppressing bullets._ Shakou realised with a jolt. _He used a quirk-suppressing bullet on me._ Or maybe they gave her quirk-suppressing medication while she was asleep.

Either way, it meant she's without a quirk for now. This was… different from last time, sure, but she could handle this. Then she'll get her quirk back and everything will be fine! Shakou just had to find a way to escape that's different from before. She'll have to find a… _Quirkless_ escape route. 

Or she could just wait out the medication.

From the news reports she's heard, quirk suppressing drugs could last anywhere between a few hours to a few weeks at a time. She couldn't afford to wait a few weeks.

A few hours, however, Shakou could handle.

"Hey," She said, nudging her classmate with her boot. "Wake up Quirkless, we need a game plan."

  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


"So you're saying," Her classmate began, frowning intently at the wall in front of them. "that the rumors about a 'court' existing are real?" Shakou nodded, feeling her eyebrows twitch in annoyance. She wanted to punch something.

"And you were kidnapped by them before?" They asked, something like concern coating their voice. "When you were just a kid?"

"Yeah, but I _escaped_ before." She replied snarkily, decidedly not mentioning that she accidentally killed someone in her attempt to get out alive. She didn't want to think about it. "All we have to do is escape again."

They nodded, their face serious in the dim lighting of the cell. "Okay." They stood up, taking a brief glance at the cuffs on their wrists before looking at Shakou with determination in their eyes. "If you say we can escape this, then we can escape this."

"Of course we can escape." Shakou replied, pushing away the fear that sat low in her stomach at the thought of having to fight a higher up Court Member while she was one of the Quirkless. "We just have to figure out how." 

Of course, there was the possibility that the quirkless kid would be killed before they could escape. In all honesty, Shakou was surprised they weren't dead yet. If they stayed in the Court's care for much longer, she's sure they'll be dead soon. It looked like she'll be forced to _protect them._ All because they're a Quirkless.

"We need a plan." They replied thoughtfully, breaking Shakou out of her thoughts. "What are they after? You said they don't like weaker quirks or the quirkless, but why are they after you? Your quirk isn't weak."

"Well obviously!" Shakou yelped, outraged at the mere implication that her quirk could be considered weak. "I'm not some low-level wannabe! They're probably after ransom money from my parents or something."

"But if that's the case," They argued, eyebrows pinched together in concentration. "Then why am I still here? If what you said is true, then they should have killed me on sight."

"I-" Shakou paused, frowning. Why were they here? Why would the Court, an organization notorious for killing the weak, let a Quirkless live. "I don't know." She muttered, forcing the words from her lips grudgingly.

They opened their mouth to reply, but before they could say a word, the telltale sound of footsteps echoed from beyond their cell's walls.

"It looks like we're about to find out." They whispered, steeling their posture into one of what Shakou recognized as false confidence. Shakou braceed herself for the worst, and then the cashier from the store walks inside their cell, followed by a woman with curly black hair and a Court tatoo on her forearm.

" _Takakutou!_ How nice to see you." He grinned, eyes a little too wide and voice a little too sincere for Shakou's liking. "I've been hoping you would wake up soon. It means we can start the process early."

"...what process?" She asked, tense and gearing up to fight if she had to. She didn't want a repeat of what happened last time _, the blood, the smell, the lifeless person in front of her-_...but she didn't want to die either.

"A process of, suggestion, at first." He replied, stalking closer to her like a predator about to corner their prey. "You'll have a week to make your choice. So we'll start off easy and ask you nicely, but that won't last for long."

He paused, exchanging a knowing glance with the woman beside him. "...we have measures to convince you to join our cause, but even if they fail-"

"You're trying to make me _join you?!"_ Shakou sputtered, scared and _enraged_ that a villain would ever consider her as a potential candidate to join their ranks. "In your _dreams."_

"Takakutou is going to be a _hero!"_ Her classmate jumped in, sounding as angry as Shakou felt. "She would _never_ become a villain."

" _You_ ," the woman next to their interrogator snarled. "Should know your _place._ You're just a _Quirkless_. A mere insignificance on the larger scale of the Quirked world." 

"Silence, _Kontorōru."_ The cashier glared, annoyance coating his voice. "Now then, I'm afraid I never introduced myself. My name is Henka Suru, and I will be your downfall in one way or another."

"You see, because this is only the first time I'm asking you this, I'll cut you a break. I'll make it easy for you! All you have to do," he laughed, poking Shakou in the side. She spat at him. "-is say _yes."_

"You see," he continued. "Those with weaker Quirks should be crushed. It's as simple as that! They require _protection_ , and people who require the safety of others won't survive in the long run anyways. Really, we're doing them a favor by killing them off. But the _Quirkless?"_ He hissed. "The Quirkless are _worse_. They contribute _nothing_ to society. They will be stomped out by the stronger, more powerful quirk users eventually. It's only a matter of time. The court just wants to make it happen sooner."

Suru clasped his hands together and smiled. "My question for _you_ , Takakutou." He said, stalking closer to Shakou and tilting her head up so she was forced to look him in the eyes. "Is this, do you disagree with anything I said? Don't you agree that those weaker than us should be left in the shadows where they belong?"

"Don't you want to join us?" He whispered, grinning from ear to ear.

"You're crazy." Shakou replied, trembling with the knowledge that she _agreed with him._

"I'll give you one more chance to say the right thing." Suru said, gritting his teeth. "You will regret what happens if you don't comply. But you can't say I never warned you. _Shakou,_ will you join us?"

Shakou breathed a deep breath, steeling herself for whatever harm might come to her at her answer. These people were _villains_ , and she was a hero. It didn't matter if she thought they were right or not. 

"No." She said, glaring defiantly at the man in front of her. The woman beside him started to grin.

"Oh, well." Suru replied, sighing in disappointment. "I did warn you. Kontorōru," he motions to the woman, giving her an evil grin. "You know what to do."

The woman nodded, stalking towards Shakou quickly and smoothly. Shakou struggled in her chains, trying to get away from her.

"What are you going to do to her?!" The Quirkless kid yelped, trying to get closer to Shakou as if _she_ were the one who needed protecting.

"Oh we're not going to touch a hair on her pretty little head!" The woman laughed. "It's what _she_ will do to _you_ that should really be your concern."

Kontorōru grinned and set her hands on Shakou's forehead before she could push them away.

Shakou felt wisps of _something_ fill her mind, and then all she saw was black.

* * *

  
  


When Shakou awoke next, she was covered in dirt and grime, her chest sore from the rocks beneath her. There was something on top of her.

Huh, that's strange. Her chains were off too.

  
  


She lifted her bruised head and gasped. 

The Quirkless kid was above her, keeping her restrained. They were breathing heavily, as if they were just in a fight, and appeared more beat up than before. One of their eyes was a blackish-blue, and they had cuts along their face as if nails were raked across their skin.

"What are you doing?" Shakou asked, realizing belatedly that she was panting too.

The kid's head snapped up, searching her gaze for something and then collapsing in relief when they found it. "Takakutou," they said, a delirious laugh on the edges of their voice. "You're back."

Carefully, they remove their weight from Shakou's back, offering a hand to help her up. She ignored it.

"When was I ever gone?" She asked, genuinely confused. "And- and why do you look-"

They touch their face gently, wincing as they don't meet her eyes. "Don't worry about it."

A sinking feeling is slowly creeping up on Shakou. Don't- Don't tell her-

"Senshi," she said, voice quiet and laced with fear. "What did that woman's quirk do?"

They looked away, fiddling with the strings of their hoodie.

" _Senshi."_ She said, harsher this time. She needed to know. "What did it do?"

  
  


"You know," they replied, a small smile stretching across their face. "I think that's the first time I've heard you call me by name."

  
  


"Don't change the subject." Shakou shot back, ignoring the burning coil of shame snaking its way through her gut.

  
  


"It was mind-control." Senshi whispered, placing a hand gently onto Shakou's shoulder. "But Takakutou, you didn't mean to-"

"It doesn't matter," Shakou interrupted quickly. "That I didn't mean to do it, _Senshi_ , what did I _do?"_

Senshi quieted, looking anywhere but at her. "I think you already know." They whispered.

  
  


Shakou took in Senshi's beat up form, their black eye, the nail marks, the scratches, the bruises, and she knew.

She felt tears well up in her eyes. She wished that she didn't.

* * *

  
  
  


"Have you changed your answer?" Suru asked, hours after Senshi had ripped their hoodie to use as makeshift bandages.

Shakou looked at Senshi, doubt and guilt and defiance battling for dominance within her chest. Senshi shook their head, placing a comforting hand on Shakou's arm. Her quirk still hadn't come back yet.

"No." She replied, shaking and scared at what she had just said. At what they were going to make her _do._

"Very well then." Suru said, shaking his head in disappointment. "You'll change your mind sooner or later. Kontorōru, you're up."

The woman stepped forward, looking at Shakou with glee. "I'm so glad you said no." She laughed, something menacing in her eyes. "You hero types are always the same, even if you agree with our morals. It will be a pleasure hurting you where you're the most sensitive, little _hero."_

She pressed her hand against Shakou's forehead, and all she saw was black.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


"I think," Senshi said amongst the quiet as they bandaged their wounds with their favorite hoodie. "Our best plan is finding a way to send a message to the outside. We've been gone for a few hours at the least, so someone has got to have noticed that we're gone. If we can find a way to send a message to Buckskin or Lackadaisy, maybe we can get out of here."

"But we're both _Quirkless_ right now." Shakou replied, the word tasting like ash on her tongue. "We're defenseless. Weak. We won't even have a chance at escaping until I get my quirk back."

Senshi looked into her eyes, searching for something. Shakou doesn't know what they're looking for, only that their gaze felt exposing, raw, longing. It made her feel like she said something wrong.

"I think you'll find that being quirkless has its perks." They replied after a minute of silence. "For one, everyone always underestimates you."

Something in Shakou's gut twisted uncomfortably.

"I'm assuming you have a plan then?" She said, quiet, in case there's someone listening. In case her guilt that she can't describe with words because _she's right and she knows she is so why does it feel wrong-_ can be heard through her voice.

"Something like that." Senshi replied, scooting closer to her on the rocky floor.

They share their plan with Shakou quietly, hushed voices murmuring in the darkness of their cell. Shakou doesn't like this plan at all. 

But it's the only one they have.

In the darkness, Senshi and Shakou slowly drift to sleep, cold and frightened but with an inkling of a plan that risks one more so than the other.

Shakou tried not to think about how, despite everything she's been forced to do, despite everything she's done willingly, Senshi never seemed to blame her at all.

* * *

  
  


The next time Suru and Kontorōru walked in, they were a little more prepared.

"Almost eleven years ago today The Court judged you, Takakotou." Suru said, pacing their cell in irritation. "You were deemed Not Guilty because of the actions you took with your powerful quirk regarding one of our late members. The Court," he said, looking Shakou in her eyes with his searching gaze. "Has seen your actions at this 'hero school' Taiyuu and has decided it would be best to recruit you to our side."

"Just imagine it!" He grinned, almost dreamily. "With you as a member of the court we could have a spy on the heros of today, we could taint their minds with our true beliefs from the inside and no one would ever know it until it was too late."

"So, Takakutou." Suru said, looking at her with anticipation. "What do you say? Will you join us? Or will you beat up this undeserving Quirkless until they can no longer breathe?"

Shakou grit her teeth. Was Senshi really undeserving? She didn't really know anymore.

"Never in a million years." 

Suru shrugged. "Suit yourself then."

Kontorōru walked closer to Shakou and raised her hand to touch her forehead. Shakou exchanged a glance with Senshi, who nodded. She prepared herself to run. 

This had better work. 

Just as Kontorōru was about to touch her, Shakou opened her mouth and bit her hand as hard as she could.

Kontorōru yowled in pain, yanking her hand backwards and stumbling back to Suru's side.

Senshi sprang up from where they were sitting, sprinting forward and decking Suru in the face with the hardest punch they could throw while their hands were bound.

" _Takakutou run, NOW!"_ They yelled, hitting a pressure point on Kontorōru's neck with their elbow. She crumpled to the ground, unconscious. 

Shakou looked at Senshi, standing between her and Suru, putting themself in front of her in order to give her the precious time she needed to escape, and in that moment she regreted ever thinking they were weak.

"Go!" They yelled, desperate but sure in their stance as Suru lets off a string of curses. "I've got your back!"

Shakou took one last look at her classmate, and then she sprinted out the door toward freedom.

  
  


She ran.

* * *

  
  


Shakou had not been trying to escape. If she had, she would've been recaptured before she even left The Court's facility. No, what she had been trying to do was find a phone.

Senshi's plan required her to memorize Taiyuu's emergency service phone number, which was the easy part, the hard part had been finding a phone and getting signal without being recaptured.

  
  


Shakou ran through the various hallways and looping tunnels as fast as her feet would let her go, all the while trying to muffle her jingling chains. By the time she had snuck into an office and pickpocketed a phone out of a masked person's coat, Shakou had started to worry.

  
  


What if they killed Senshi while she was gone? Senshi was quirkless, useless, replaceable, easy to dispose of. 

Except- except Senshi also wasn't any of that. Well, aside from being quirkless of course. Senshi had knocked out Kontorōru right before Shakou had left their cell, and they had punched Suru in the _face_ so hard that Shakou almost wanted to laugh. Senshi had… protected her. Despite being Quirkless. Despite being lesser. Despite being injured and scared like her.

But if Senshi wasn't weaker or lesser or useless, then what did that say about Shakou? What did that say about the way she had treated them ever since she had found out about their quirkless status? Was she just as bad as the villains they were trying to escape from?

...No. No, Shakou was going to be a hero. Senshi had said it themself. And a hero was better than the villains they defeated. So Shakou would be too. 

  
  


Shakou pushed her thoughts out of her mind, instead choosing to hide behind the desk inside the empty office and start working on the phone she had pickpocketed. This would be the hardest part, if they had set a password to their phone then Shakou was done for.

Taking a nervous breath, she clicked the phone's power button. When she swiped upwards only to find a list of home apps and appliances, Shakou wanted to cry from relief.

Shaking, but more confident now, Shakou opened up the messages app and entered a new phone number into the new conversations tab. Normally, she would dial 119, but Senshi didn't seem to believe that the police could help them. Or at least help them as fast as Taiyuu could.

  
  


" _There was a phone number Buckskin gave us on the syllabus." Senshi had said in their hushed conversation the previous night. "If you can find an unlocked phone and send our location their way, along with the time limit Suru gave you for your decision to be made, we might have a chance at being rescued."_

  
  
  


Shakou punched in the number she had repeated to herself all night, shakily hitting the little location icon in the bottom corner. Slowly, she typed out her message, and sent it before she could second-guess what she wanted to say.

She could hear footsteps coming closer to her door.

After seeing that it had sent, Shakou breathed a sigh of relief. It was out of her hands now.

She looked from the locked door, the pounding of fists hitting the other side, to the phone clenched tightly in her hand. She had to get rid of it. 

Shakou took one look at the phone in her hands, and then promptly smashed it against the corner of the desk, shattering the glass screen to pieces. She winced at the glass shards that she couldn't avoid in time. The pounding was getting louder, she had to hurry.

Shakou gently took the phone in her hands over to the large vase of flowers resting on the desk, and quickly dunked it inside, using the flowers' stems and leaves to hide the broken phone from view. 

Shakou gingerly picked up the obvious glass pieces from the floor and put them in the vase as well. She could hear them coming.

Looking around for something to use, she yanked a broomstick from its place in the small closet on the side of the room. If Senshi could fight with a stick, then so could she.

The door to the office broke through, and Shakou let out a warcry. She may be doomed to fall, but she wouldn't go down without a fight.

* * *

  
  
  


_Buckskin, if you're reading this, then my message went through. This is Shakou Takakutou from Taiyuu's heroics course here to give you an update on my situation with Yasashii Senshi. We have been kidnapped and taken to some form of underground hideout of The Court, a villainous organization out to destroy the quirkless and weaker quirked. We have a little under a week to remain here alive. I… am not even sure if Senshi is still alive. I had to leave them alone in order to send you this message. They were the one who came up with the plan to send it to you, so they thought it would only be fitting if they were the one in danger._

_...If we don't make it out in time, could you tell my parents I love them? They know that already, of course, but… I'd just like to make sure._

_Bring reinforcements quickly. I'll be destroying this phone as soon as the message is sent._

_-Takakutou_

* * *

  
  
  


" _You,"_ Suru snarled, a dangerous amount of venom coating his voice. The bandages wrapped around his head looked hilarious, if Shakou was being honest. It almost took away from the anger he was projecting. "Are going to regret crossing The Court, Shakou Takakutou. If I weren't in charge of converting you I would have put a bullet in your head myself." 

He paced the floor of the interrogation room angrily, teeth grinding together as he attempted to cool his rage. "I may not know what you did back there, but _boy_ will you regret pulling a stunt like that. If I have my way you will never pull a similar escape attempt again."

His snarl turned into a grin. "Kontorōru," he called out devilishly. "Take Takakutou to her cell."

Kontorōru grinned. "With pleasure." 

She placed her hand over Shakou's forehead, and all Shakou saw was black.

Black was starting to become a familiar color.

* * *

  
  


When Shakou woke up, there wasn't the secure feeling of Senshi restraining her. Keeping her from hurting them. No, she woke up to the sound of the door to their cell closing shut while she layed on the ground with her cuffed hands chained to a spot on the wall.

Shakou could hear pained breathing from somewhere in front of her. She was too afraid to look.

_I'm okay._ Senshi gently tapped in morse code, clinking their chains together in lingering notes. They echo around in their cell, lonely little noises filling up the space in front of them.

Shakou can feel blood on her hands. She doesn't think it's hers.

_I did it._ She tapped back, a sob tearing at her chest. _Message sent._

Shakou pretended not to notice the bloodied pieces of Senshi's hoodie on the floor.

_You were amazing._ They tap back, a wet cough briefly breaking the clink of their chains. _Suru looked silly in bandages._

Despite the guilt crushing Shakou's chest, constricting her like a viper to its prey, she found the air in her chest for a watery laugh. _He really did._

* * *

  
  
  


Shakou didn't know how much time had passed before she saw Suru and Kontorōru again. It had felt like days, but it could've been hours.

At some point in their time chained to the walls of their cell, a tall sickly pale person wearing a facemask walked calmly into their cell and placed a single tray of food in front of Takakutou. On it, was a juice pouch, a small loaf of bread the size of her fist, and a handful of grapes.

"You know," the person said, right before exiting the room. "I disagree with the decision The Court made eleven years ago." They paused in their steps, their emotionless half-scale mask sending chills down Shakou's spine. "I think you should've been declared guilty a long time ago."

They closed the door behind them with a click, and once the coast was clear, Shakou was quick to turn to the food. She hadn't realized she was so hungry.

Shakou froze midway through the motion of grabbing her bread. There wasn't any food put in front of Senshi. Carefully, she broke the loaf in half, scooting as far as her chains would go toward her classmate.

"Senshi." She said, her throat hoarse from disuse. "Senshi wake up, there's food."

"Food?" Senshi mumbled, finally starting to move again. They were getting slower, and Shakou was worried they had a bad injury she couldn't see. An injury that she couldn't fix with torn pieces of clothing.

"Yeah." She replied, urging them closer. "Come over here, we can share it."

Shakou offered them the half loaf of bread, and shakily, they took it from her. For awhile, they ate in silence, the relief of the food too great for a conversation to begin. But eventually, Shakou's thoughts got ahead of her.

She couldn't stop thinking about that tight, cramped space underneath the office desk, realising for the first time that she might have been treating Senshi unfairly since the day she first saw them. 

She couldn't stop thinking about how no matter what Senshi went through, they always seemed to forgive her.

"Senshi?" She whispered, her genuine confusion at war with the morals she had been taught since her quirk had first shown up. "Why aren't you mad at me?"

Senshi paused mid-bite, looking at her in confusion. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because," Shakou started, pulling her legs close to her chest. "Because I haven't been nice to you at all this year. Because ever since I met you, I've called you names and pushed you around and told you that you deserved it."

"So why," She said, trying to quell the emotion rising within her conflicted heart. "Why don't you ever get mad at me? Why don't- why don't you hit back?"

Senshi placed their bread back down onto the plate and let out a soft 'hmm'. "Well," they began slowly, testing out their words. "I don't think it was your fault for being raised to believe what you do. I think that you're still a kid, just like me."

Senshi clenched one of their fists, lost in thought. "I think," they said softly, sincere in their every word. "That people shouldn't blame kids for what mistakes they make. I think everyone deserves a second chance to make things right again."

"You've just been doing what you think is right." Senshi replied, eyes trying to convince her that what they're saying is true. "You've gotten a lot better Takakutou. How could I fault you for trying?"

Shakou felt tears building up. She was a hero, she was a hero, and heroes don't cry. 

Heroes also don't call people names, but she's done plenty of that.

"Um- Takakutou?" Senshi asked nervously, noticing the water in Shakou's eyes. "You- you look like you need a hug. May I-"

"Yeah." She croaked, overwhelmed with the storm of emotion rolling inside her. "You can give me a hug, Senshi."

  
  


* * *

  
  


When the heroes finally burst into their cell it felt like a dream.

Suru and Kontorōru had just left them alone after their latest session, or Shakou thought they had- it was hard to tell time in a room with no windows.

There was a soft knock on the door, halting Shakou mid-motion as she tried desperately to bandage a bruised Senshi with the meager piece of pant leg fabric she had left. 

They couldn't be back already. They couldn't- Senshi couldn't handle another beating so soon.

Senshi tensed and exchanged a look with Shakou. _I'm okay._ They tapped gently with their chains.

Shakou wanted to sob. _I'm okay._ She tapped back.

"Children? Are you in there?" Came the soft, familiar whisper of Buckskin's voice.

Senshi's head whipped upwards, and Shakou could feel a knot of emotion welling up in her throat.

"We're here!" Senshi replied, loud enough to be heard through the door but quiet enough to not attract too much attention.

It could be a trap, it probably _was one_ considering their luck- but they couldn't afford to lose this chance in case it wasn't. In case it was true, and their teacher had come to save them.

"Oh thank _God."_ Came the desperate reply from behind their cell door. "Are you kids alright? I'm going to pick the lock now, and then I'll get you out of there. Are any of you hurt?"

"I am." Senshi replied quickly. Shakou tried not to think about how she was the one who put those injuries on them. "Takakotou is too. She's been bruised, and I think she has glass shards in her palms."

Shakou looked down at her hands. Huh, she never noticed. 

There was a soft clicking noise as the door's lock opened. "Got it!"

Shakou had never been so relieved to see a teacher in her life.

Buckskin froze upon seeing them, but only for an instant, making a pained noise in the back of his throat before quickly moving towards the chains around Senshi's wrists.

A few days ago, Shakou would've complained that he's helping a Quirkless before her.

A few days ago, she wasn't forced to beat Senshi senseless.

Buckskin moved the lockpick with ease, using it to skillfully find the mechanism inside the chains and pop the locks free.

"Can you tell me where it hurts?" He asked gently, slowly untangling the chains from around Senshi's wrists.

"Uh- my- my ribs. It hurts to breathe. And my face is sore? I- I might have a concussion, I don't know for sure." They mumbled back, eyes wide and trained on Buckskin's every move. Almost as if he would disappear if they weren't watching him. 

Shakou couldn't blame them, she was, admittedly, doing the exact same thing.

"And you, Takakotou? Are you hurt anywhere?" Buckskin asked, discarding Senshi's chains and starting to unlock her own.

"I'm...alright." Shakou replied, shock finally settling in. "I'm bruised a bit, and probably in shock. But it's nothing."

It's nothing compared to what she did to Senshi.

"Now there," Buckskin chastised, flicking her chain's lock open. "You shouldn't just brush off shock and bruises! We'll still need to get you checked out by medical professionals when we get outside."

Shakou nodded, feeling numb. Were they really going outside?

"Lackadaisy is dealing with the criminals inside this location, along with a team of heroes perfect for the job." Buckskin continued, voice softly echoing along the cell's desolate walls. "You two were very brave, managing to send that message all by yourselves. I'm proud of you for it."

Shakou watched as Senshi's eyes started to gloss over with unshed tears. 

"Now then," Buckskin said with a soft, but pained, smile, offering a hand to each of them. "Let's get you two home."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think of my writing in the comments below!


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